01. Aug 2025

Gierłoz - Reszel

Photo 1: My tent pitch on the grounds of the Wolf's Lair. To right in the background is what is left of the officiers quarter. To the right is a concrete boulder. It gives you an idea of how thick the walls of the bunkers were built. When the Nazis knew the war was over, they destroyed the Wolf's Lair themselves... no easy undertaking.

It rained all night up to the point that I needed to get my backpack out of the tent. I was able to get the tent mostly dry before leaving for the day.

Photo 2: Not far away from the Wolf's Lair was an airstrip that is now a museum.

Photo 3: I went into this church in Kętrzyn to see if I might find the stamp for the pilgrim passport. I did. It was behind a counter in the entry. As I was stamping my passport, a man came in and offered to give me 50 złoties if I would give him 40 back. I was not sure if this was a trap or a kind gesture to a pilgrim. I took his 50 and gave him 2x20 back. He was happy and walked into the church. I was happy, grabbed my backpack and also walked into the church. We were the only two people there. I then walked to the front of the church, sang my pilgrim song and prayed for Poland. As I walked back out, I went passed the man. He looked at me, now with red eyes from crying. I touched his shoulder and said in my Slavic sentence that is almost universally understood in the Slavic countries: "God be with you my brother." I have no idea what he was experiencing, but it was a special moment. And I used the 50 złoty bill to pay for my room this night, so I guess it was real money.

Photo 4: The Reszel Castle in the town where I stayed the night.

Photo 5: I had a room in a boarding school all to myself. I was glad to have the space to spread my things out to get them dry after the rainy night and morning.